\u201cIt Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry\u201d (1971)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"Bruce](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bruce-covers-dylan-1971.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: David Gahr\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tFor two very memorable days in May 1971, Bruce Springsteen and future E Street Band members Steve Van Zandt and Garry Tallent, along with a few of their Jersey Shore buddies, including Southside Johnny, played shows as Dr. Zoom & the Sonic Boom. By some miracle, a clean recording exists of their May 15, 1971, set at Newark State College in Union, New Jersey, where they opened up with a wild, bluesy rendition of \u201cIt Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry.\u201d Springsteen does an impressive job on the Michael Bloomfield guitar parts on the original, but there\u2019s no record of him ever attempting the song again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\n\u201cIt\u2019s All Over Now, Baby Blue\u201d (1972)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"Singer](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-rollingstone-2022\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
![\"Singer](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bruce-covers-dylan-1972.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Earl Leaf\/Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tLater in 1971, Springsteen pared down the lineup of Dr. Zoom & the Sonic Boom to simply himself, Vini Lopez, Tallent, Van Zandt, and keyboardist David Sancious. He called it the Bruce Springsteen Band, and it\u2019s basically what became the E Street Band a couple of years later, minus Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons. Their set was heavy on covers like \u201cGot My Mojo Working,\u201d \u201cKey to the Highway,\u201d and \u201cNot Fade Away.\u201d They also did a slow, Van Morrison-inspired take on \u201cIt\u2019s All Over Now, Baby Blue\u201d at least five times between October 1971 and March 1972. Here\u2019s a recording of one from the Back Door in Richmond, Virginia, on Feb, 25, 1972.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\n\u201cI Want You\u201d (1975)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"UNITED](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bruce-covers-dylan-1975.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Richard E. Aaron\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tOnce Springsteen signed with CBS in 1972 and began putting out records the following year, the number of cover songs in his set dropped considerably. But he usually played at least two or three. One was an achingly gorgeous take on \u201cI Want You,\u201d which grew to even greater heights once violinist Suki Lahav \u2014 who died<\/a> earlier this year \u2014 joined the E Street Band. The definitive recording comes from the legendary concert at Philadelphia\u2019s Main Point on Feb. 5, 1975. It\u2019s arguably the single greatest live show Springsteen ever played, and there\u2019s a pristine recording that has circulated for decades. Just a month later, when Lahav left the band, the song forever vanished from Springsteen\u2019s live repertoire.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cChimes of Freedom\u201d (1978)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"Atlanta](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bruce-covers-dylan-1978.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Rick Diamond\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tMidway through the 1978 Darkness on the Edge of Town<\/em> tour, Springsteen unveiled his take on Dylan\u2019s \u201cChimes of Freedom\u201d during a show in Detroit. This was before the days of the teleprompter, and he had to read the lyrics from a music stand. It\u2019s a completely unique rendition, complete with a Clarence Clemons sax solo, and he wouldn\u2019t attempt it again until the 1988 Tunnel of Love Express tour when it became a nightly highlight. A recording from the July 3, 1988, show in Stockholm, Sweden, was released on the Chimes of Freedom<\/em> EP along with other songs from the tour. The song sat dormant until 2025, when it became the nightly closer on the politically-charged Land of Hope and Dreams tour.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cBlowin\u2019 in the Wind\u201d (1988)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"Bruce](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bruce-covers-dylan-1988.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Rob Verhorst\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tDuring an off-day before a show in Paris on the Tunnel of Love Express tour, Springsteen and Clemons made a guest appearance at the televised S.O.S. Racism Concert, where they shared the bill with Joan Baez, Youssou N\u2019Dour, Burning Spear, and many other global acts. Springsteen\u2019s four-song set included \u201cThe Promised Land,\u201d \u201cMy Hometown,\u201d CCR\u2019s \u201cBad Moon Rising,\u201d and Dylan\u2019s \u201cBlowin\u2019 in the Wind.\u201d He sang it again with Joan Baez later that year when the Amnesty International Human Rights Now! tour came to Oakland, California. These are the only two known times he\u2019s performed the folk standard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
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\n\u201cKnockin\u2019 on Heaven\u2019s Door\u201d (1995)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"American](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bruce-covers-dylan-1995.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Vinnie Zuffante\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tMuch like \u201cBlowin\u2019 in the Wind,\u201d \u201cKnockin\u2019 on Heaven\u2019s Door\u201d is a standard that one might presume Bruce Springsteen has played dozens of times. In actuality, he\u2019s only done it twice. The first was the 1995 Berlin concert with Wolfgang Niedecken where he also did \u201cHighway 61 Revisited,\u201d and seven renditions of \u201cHungry Heart.\u201d (This was for the Hungry Heart<\/em> EP. It was a very weird night.) Springsteen\u2019s second \u201cKnockin\u2019 on Heaven\u2019s Door\u201d took place at the 2015 MusiCares tribute to Bob Dylan at the Los Angeles Convention Center, where Springsteen played with an all-star band that included Buddy Miller, Tom Morello, Don Was, Kenny Aronoff, and Greg Leisz.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cForever Young\u201d (1995)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"Bob](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bruce-covers-dylan-LEAD_fdb6ce.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Kevin Mazur\/WireImage\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tBob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen were both signed to Columbia Records by executive John Hammond. He took a big risk on both, and they remained grateful until the day he died in 1987. Springsteen came to the funeral, and sang a solo acoustic rendition of Dylan\u2019s 1973 hit \u201cForever Young.\u201d In 1995, Dylan and Springsteen performed together for the very first time (excluding the chaotic 1988 Hall Fame induction ceremony jam where they were two of about 40 people onstage) at a blowout concert marking the opening of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
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\n\u201cThe Times They Are-A Changin\u2019\u201d (1997)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"Bruce](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bruce-covers-dylan-1997.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Martin Philbey\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tIn 1997, long before Donald Trump destroyed the institution, Bob Dylan received the Kennedy Center Honors alongside Charlton Heston, Lauren Bacall, opera singer Jessye Norman, and ballet dancer Edward Villella. Springsteen had plenty of free time on his hands since the Tom Joad tour was over, and he wouldn\u2019t kick off the E Street Band reunion run for well over a year, so he came by to honor Dylan with a solo, acoustic \u201cThe Times They Are A-Changin’\u201d that Bob watched in the audience alongside his mother, Beatty, who died just three years later. The only other time Springsteen played the song was during a visit to Howard Stern\u2019s studio in 2022, and it was just a tiny snippet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
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\n\u201cHighway 61 Revisited\u201d (2003)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"NETHERLANDS](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bruce-covers-dylan-2003.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Paul Bergen\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tSpringsteen first played the title track to Highway 61 Revisited<\/em> alongside Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt at the November 1990 Christic Institute benefit shows. He performed it again in 1995 during the show in Berlin with Wolfgang Niedecken and His Leopardefellband. But the most memorable \u201cHighway 61 Revisited\u201d took place Oct. 4, 2003, when Dylan shocked the crowd at Shea Stadium by joining the E Street Band at the last stop of The Rising<\/em> tour. It\u2019s almost absurdly sloppy, and neither of them seem to know the words, even though Bob has done the song more 2,000 times, second only to \u201cAll Along the Watchtower.\u201d But nobody cared. The joy was seeing two of the greatest American songwriters of the century side by side.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cAll Along the Watchtower\u201d (2004)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"COLUMBUS,](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bruce-covers-dylan-2004.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tOne year after Dylan made a fantastically messy unannounced guest appearance with the E Street Band, they were joined by Neil Young during a stop of the Vote for Change tour in St. Paul, Minnesota. This one went much smoother, and it included blazing renditions of \u201cRockin\u2019 in the Free World,\u201d \u201cSouls of the Departed,\u201d and Dylan\u2019s 1968 classic \u201cAll Along the Watchtower.\u201d This is a concert staple that everyone from the Dave Mathews Band to Phish, U2, and the Grateful Dead had in their live repertoire. But this is the only known time Springsteen attempted it at a headlining show. (He did play the song with Solar Circus in 1995, and Exit 105 in 2004.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
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\n\u201cMr. Tambourine Man\u201d (2008)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"UNITED](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bruce-covers-dylan-2008.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Ron Antonelli\/NY Daily News Archive\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tSpringsteen\u2019s earliest years as a live performer with groups like the Castiles, Earth, and Child are poorly documented. It\u2019s quite possible he played all sorts of Dylan covers in those years, including \u201cMr. Tambourine Man.\u201d But the first definite \u201cMr. Tambourine Man\u201d took place at Tom Petty\u2019s private 40th birthday celebration in Encino, California, when Springsteen shared the stage with Roger McGuinn, Jeff Lynne, and the Heartbreakers. He didn\u2019t attempt it again until April 23, 2008, when the Magic<\/em> tour came to Orlando, Florida. This was the first E Street Band show since the death of keyboardist Danny Federici, and everyone was still in a deep state of mourning, but McGuinn came out during the encores to lift everyone\u2019s spirits. He led the band on the Byrds\u2019 rendition of \u201cMr. Tambourine Man.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cLike a Rolling Stone\u201d (2009)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"TAMPA,](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bruce-covers-dylan-2009.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Jamie Squire\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tSpringsteen famously said the opening snare shot at the beginning of \u201cLike a Rolling Stone\u201d sounded like \u201csomebody kicked open the door to your mind.\u201d Once he heard it in the car with his mother back in 1965, his life was never the same. But discounting the 1988 Hall of Fame jam, which was just a cacophony of chaos, Springsteen didn\u2019t play it until he guested with John Mellencamp at an Irvine, California, show in 1988. And he didn\u2019t take the lead on the song until May 19, 2009, when he played it by request during a show at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
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\n\u201cI Shall Be Released\u201d (2026)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"bruce](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bruce-covers-dylan-2026.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tTo celebrate the opening of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, and America\u2019s semiquincentennial, a two-night concert was held at the OceanFirst Bank Center that took on the near-impossible task of honoring 250 years of American music history. On the second night, Springsteen teamed up with Sheryl Crow to cover the Basement Tapes<\/em> classic \u201cI Shall Be Released,\u201d marking the first time he\u2019d ever played it. By wild coincidence, Dylan kicked off his summer tour the previous night by resurrecting the Basement Tapes<\/em> extreme deep cut \u201cBaby, Won\u2019t You Be My Baby\u201d <\/a>for the first time since the original recording in 1967. And the next night, Dylan played the Basement Tapes<\/em> song \u201cYou Ain\u2019t Goin\u2019 Nowhere\u201d for the first time since 2012.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nBonus: Bob Dylan Plays \u201cDancing in the Dark\u201d (1990)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"American](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bruce-covers-dylan-bob-1990.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Paul Bergen\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tBruce Springsteen began covering Bob Dylan in 1971, at least, and the love-fest continued all the way through the 2026 Land of Hope and Dreams tour, where \u201cChimes of Freedom\u201d closed ever night. But Dylan only returned the favor a single time. This was the infamous Toad\u2019s Place concert in New Haven, Connecticut, where Dylan played an astounding 50 songs to a stunned crowd. One of them was a very sloppy, unrehearsed \u201cDancing in the Dark.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
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\nDouble Bonus: \u201cTweeter and the Monkey Man\u201d by the Traveling Wilburys (1988)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"Tom](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bruce-covers-dylan-bob-tom-wilburys.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Paul Natkin\/WireImage\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tThe greatest Bruce Springsteen song that Bruce Springsteen didn\u2019t write, \u201cTweeter and the Monkey Man,\u201d appears on the 1988 Traveling Wilburys<\/em> album. Written largely by Dylan and Tom Petty, the song contains a Springsteen reference in practically every single line. (Sample lyric: \u201cThey knew that they found freedom just across the Jersey line \/So they hopped into a stolen car, took Highway 99.\u201d) \u201cIt was not meant to mock him at all,\u201d Petty told Rolling Stone<\/em> in 2013. \u201cIt started with Bob Dylan saying, \u2018I want to write a song about a guy named Tweeter. And it needs somebody else.\u2019 I said, \u2018The Monkey Man.\u2019 And he says, \u2018Perfect, \u2018Tweeter and the Monkey Man.\u201d And he said, \u2018Okay, I want to write the story and I want to set it in New Jersey.\u2019 I was like, \u2018Okay, New Jersey.\u2019 And he was like, \u2018Yeah, we could use references to Bruce Springsteen titles.\u2019 He clearly meant it as praise.\u201d We\u2019ll take Petty at his word that they weren\u2019t trying to poke even a little. And it remains our dream that one day Springsteen will play it live. If he ever does another \u201cStump the Band\u201d tour with fans holding up sign requests, we\u2019re going with \u201cTweeter and the Monkey Man.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\n\tFor two very memorable days in May 1971, Bruce Springsteen and future E Street Band members Steve Van Zandt and Garry Tallent, along with a few of their Jersey Shore buddies, including Southside Johnny, played shows as Dr. Zoom & the Sonic Boom. By some miracle, a clean recording exists of their May 15, 1971, set at Newark State College in Union, New Jersey, where they opened up with a wild, bluesy rendition of \u201cIt Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry.\u201d Springsteen does an impressive job on the Michael Bloomfield guitar parts on the original, but there\u2019s no record of him ever attempting the song again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s All Over Now, Baby Blue\u201d (1972)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Earl Leaf\/Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tLater in 1971, Springsteen pared down the lineup of Dr. Zoom & the Sonic Boom to simply himself, Vini Lopez, Tallent, Van Zandt, and keyboardist David Sancious. He called it the Bruce Springsteen Band, and it\u2019s basically what became the E Street Band a couple of years later, minus Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons. Their set was heavy on covers like \u201cGot My Mojo Working,\u201d \u201cKey to the Highway,\u201d and \u201cNot Fade Away.\u201d They also did a slow, Van Morrison-inspired take on \u201cIt\u2019s All Over Now, Baby Blue\u201d at least five times between October 1971 and March 1972. Here\u2019s a recording of one from the Back Door in Richmond, Virginia, on Feb, 25, 1972.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
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\n\u201cI Want You\u201d (1975)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Richard E. Aaron\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tOnce Springsteen signed with CBS in 1972 and began putting out records the following year, the number of cover songs in his set dropped considerably. But he usually played at least two or three. One was an achingly gorgeous take on \u201cI Want You,\u201d which grew to even greater heights once violinist Suki Lahav \u2014 who died<\/a> earlier this year \u2014 joined the E Street Band. The definitive recording comes from the legendary concert at Philadelphia\u2019s Main Point on Feb. 5, 1975. It\u2019s arguably the single greatest live show Springsteen ever played, and there\u2019s a pristine recording that has circulated for decades. Just a month later, when Lahav left the band, the song forever vanished from Springsteen\u2019s live repertoire.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cChimes of Freedom\u201d (1978)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Rick Diamond\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tMidway through the 1978 Darkness on the Edge of Town<\/em> tour, Springsteen unveiled his take on Dylan\u2019s \u201cChimes of Freedom\u201d during a show in Detroit. This was before the days of the teleprompter, and he had to read the lyrics from a music stand. It\u2019s a completely unique rendition, complete with a Clarence Clemons sax solo, and he wouldn\u2019t attempt it again until the 1988 Tunnel of Love Express tour when it became a nightly highlight. A recording from the July 3, 1988, show in Stockholm, Sweden, was released on the Chimes of Freedom<\/em> EP along with other songs from the tour. The song sat dormant until 2025, when it became the nightly closer on the politically-charged Land of Hope and Dreams tour.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cBlowin\u2019 in the Wind\u201d (1988)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Rob Verhorst\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tDuring an off-day before a show in Paris on the Tunnel of Love Express tour, Springsteen and Clemons made a guest appearance at the televised S.O.S. Racism Concert, where they shared the bill with Joan Baez, Youssou N\u2019Dour, Burning Spear, and many other global acts. Springsteen\u2019s four-song set included \u201cThe Promised Land,\u201d \u201cMy Hometown,\u201d CCR\u2019s \u201cBad Moon Rising,\u201d and Dylan\u2019s \u201cBlowin\u2019 in the Wind.\u201d He sang it again with Joan Baez later that year when the Amnesty International Human Rights Now! tour came to Oakland, California. These are the only two known times he\u2019s performed the folk standard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
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\n\u201cKnockin\u2019 on Heaven\u2019s Door\u201d (1995)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Vinnie Zuffante\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tMuch like \u201cBlowin\u2019 in the Wind,\u201d \u201cKnockin\u2019 on Heaven\u2019s Door\u201d is a standard that one might presume Bruce Springsteen has played dozens of times. In actuality, he\u2019s only done it twice. The first was the 1995 Berlin concert with Wolfgang Niedecken where he also did \u201cHighway 61 Revisited,\u201d and seven renditions of \u201cHungry Heart.\u201d (This was for the Hungry Heart<\/em> EP. It was a very weird night.) Springsteen\u2019s second \u201cKnockin\u2019 on Heaven\u2019s Door\u201d took place at the 2015 MusiCares tribute to Bob Dylan at the Los Angeles Convention Center, where Springsteen played with an all-star band that included Buddy Miller, Tom Morello, Don Was, Kenny Aronoff, and Greg Leisz.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cForever Young\u201d (1995)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Kevin Mazur\/WireImage\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tBob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen were both signed to Columbia Records by executive John Hammond. He took a big risk on both, and they remained grateful until the day he died in 1987. Springsteen came to the funeral, and sang a solo acoustic rendition of Dylan\u2019s 1973 hit \u201cForever Young.\u201d In 1995, Dylan and Springsteen performed together for the very first time (excluding the chaotic 1988 Hall Fame induction ceremony jam where they were two of about 40 people onstage) at a blowout concert marking the opening of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
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\n\u201cThe Times They Are-A Changin\u2019\u201d (1997)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Martin Philbey\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tIn 1997, long before Donald Trump destroyed the institution, Bob Dylan received the Kennedy Center Honors alongside Charlton Heston, Lauren Bacall, opera singer Jessye Norman, and ballet dancer Edward Villella. Springsteen had plenty of free time on his hands since the Tom Joad tour was over, and he wouldn\u2019t kick off the E Street Band reunion run for well over a year, so he came by to honor Dylan with a solo, acoustic \u201cThe Times They Are A-Changin’\u201d that Bob watched in the audience alongside his mother, Beatty, who died just three years later. The only other time Springsteen played the song was during a visit to Howard Stern\u2019s studio in 2022, and it was just a tiny snippet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
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\n\u201cHighway 61 Revisited\u201d (2003)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Paul Bergen\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tSpringsteen first played the title track to Highway 61 Revisited<\/em> alongside Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt at the November 1990 Christic Institute benefit shows. He performed it again in 1995 during the show in Berlin with Wolfgang Niedecken and His Leopardefellband. But the most memorable \u201cHighway 61 Revisited\u201d took place Oct. 4, 2003, when Dylan shocked the crowd at Shea Stadium by joining the E Street Band at the last stop of The Rising<\/em> tour. It\u2019s almost absurdly sloppy, and neither of them seem to know the words, even though Bob has done the song more 2,000 times, second only to \u201cAll Along the Watchtower.\u201d But nobody cared. The joy was seeing two of the greatest American songwriters of the century side by side.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cAll Along the Watchtower\u201d (2004)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tOne year after Dylan made a fantastically messy unannounced guest appearance with the E Street Band, they were joined by Neil Young during a stop of the Vote for Change tour in St. Paul, Minnesota. This one went much smoother, and it included blazing renditions of \u201cRockin\u2019 in the Free World,\u201d \u201cSouls of the Departed,\u201d and Dylan\u2019s 1968 classic \u201cAll Along the Watchtower.\u201d This is a concert staple that everyone from the Dave Mathews Band to Phish, U2, and the Grateful Dead had in their live repertoire. But this is the only known time Springsteen attempted it at a headlining show. (He did play the song with Solar Circus in 1995, and Exit 105 in 2004.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\n\u201cMr. Tambourine Man\u201d (2008)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Ron Antonelli\/NY Daily News Archive\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tSpringsteen\u2019s earliest years as a live performer with groups like the Castiles, Earth, and Child are poorly documented. It\u2019s quite possible he played all sorts of Dylan covers in those years, including \u201cMr. Tambourine Man.\u201d But the first definite \u201cMr. Tambourine Man\u201d took place at Tom Petty\u2019s private 40th birthday celebration in Encino, California, when Springsteen shared the stage with Roger McGuinn, Jeff Lynne, and the Heartbreakers. He didn\u2019t attempt it again until April 23, 2008, when the Magic<\/em> tour came to Orlando, Florida. This was the first E Street Band show since the death of keyboardist Danny Federici, and everyone was still in a deep state of mourning, but McGuinn came out during the encores to lift everyone\u2019s spirits. He led the band on the Byrds\u2019 rendition of \u201cMr. Tambourine Man.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cLike a Rolling Stone\u201d (2009)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Jamie Squire\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tSpringsteen famously said the opening snare shot at the beginning of \u201cLike a Rolling Stone\u201d sounded like \u201csomebody kicked open the door to your mind.\u201d Once he heard it in the car with his mother back in 1965, his life was never the same. But discounting the 1988 Hall of Fame jam, which was just a cacophony of chaos, Springsteen didn\u2019t play it until he guested with John Mellencamp at an Irvine, California, show in 1988. And he didn\u2019t take the lead on the song until May 19, 2009, when he played it by request during a show at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\n\u201cI Shall Be Released\u201d (2026)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tTo celebrate the opening of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, and America\u2019s semiquincentennial, a two-night concert was held at the OceanFirst Bank Center that took on the near-impossible task of honoring 250 years of American music history. On the second night, Springsteen teamed up with Sheryl Crow to cover the Basement Tapes<\/em> classic \u201cI Shall Be Released,\u201d marking the first time he\u2019d ever played it. By wild coincidence, Dylan kicked off his summer tour the previous night by resurrecting the Basement Tapes<\/em> extreme deep cut \u201cBaby, Won\u2019t You Be My Baby\u201d <\/a>for the first time since the original recording in 1967. And the next night, Dylan played the Basement Tapes<\/em> song \u201cYou Ain\u2019t Goin\u2019 Nowhere\u201d for the first time since 2012.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nBonus: Bob Dylan Plays \u201cDancing in the Dark\u201d (1990)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Paul Bergen\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tBruce Springsteen began covering Bob Dylan in 1971, at least, and the love-fest continued all the way through the 2026 Land of Hope and Dreams tour, where \u201cChimes of Freedom\u201d closed ever night. But Dylan only returned the favor a single time. This was the infamous Toad\u2019s Place concert in New Haven, Connecticut, where Dylan played an astounding 50 songs to a stunned crowd. One of them was a very sloppy, unrehearsed \u201cDancing in the Dark.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\nDouble Bonus: \u201cTweeter and the Monkey Man\u201d by the Traveling Wilburys (1988)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Paul Natkin\/WireImage\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tThe greatest Bruce Springsteen song that Bruce Springsteen didn\u2019t write, \u201cTweeter and the Monkey Man,\u201d appears on the 1988 Traveling Wilburys<\/em> album. Written largely by Dylan and Tom Petty, the song contains a Springsteen reference in practically every single line. (Sample lyric: \u201cThey knew that they found freedom just across the Jersey line \/So they hopped into a stolen car, took Highway 99.\u201d) \u201cIt was not meant to mock him at all,\u201d Petty told Rolling Stone<\/em> in 2013. \u201cIt started with Bob Dylan saying, \u2018I want to write a song about a guy named Tweeter. And it needs somebody else.\u2019 I said, \u2018The Monkey Man.\u2019 And he says, \u2018Perfect, \u2018Tweeter and the Monkey Man.\u201d And he said, \u2018Okay, I want to write the story and I want to set it in New Jersey.\u2019 I was like, \u2018Okay, New Jersey.\u2019 And he was like, \u2018Yeah, we could use references to Bruce Springsteen titles.\u2019 He clearly meant it as praise.\u201d We\u2019ll take Petty at his word that they weren\u2019t trying to poke even a little. And it remains our dream that one day Springsteen will play it live. If he ever does another \u201cStump the Band\u201d tour with fans holding up sign requests, we\u2019re going with \u201cTweeter and the Monkey Man.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\n\tLater in 1971, Springsteen pared down the lineup of Dr. Zoom & the Sonic Boom to simply himself, Vini Lopez, Tallent, Van Zandt, and keyboardist David Sancious. He called it the Bruce Springsteen Band, and it\u2019s basically what became the E Street Band a couple of years later, minus Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons. Their set was heavy on covers like \u201cGot My Mojo Working,\u201d \u201cKey to the Highway,\u201d and \u201cNot Fade Away.\u201d They also did a slow, Van Morrison-inspired take on \u201cIt\u2019s All Over Now, Baby Blue\u201d at least five times between October 1971 and March 1972. Here\u2019s a recording of one from the Back Door in Richmond, Virginia, on Feb, 25, 1972.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
\u201cI Want You\u201d (1975)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Richard E. Aaron\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tOnce Springsteen signed with CBS in 1972 and began putting out records the following year, the number of cover songs in his set dropped considerably. But he usually played at least two or three. One was an achingly gorgeous take on \u201cI Want You,\u201d which grew to even greater heights once violinist Suki Lahav \u2014 who died<\/a> earlier this year \u2014 joined the E Street Band. The definitive recording comes from the legendary concert at Philadelphia\u2019s Main Point on Feb. 5, 1975. It\u2019s arguably the single greatest live show Springsteen ever played, and there\u2019s a pristine recording that has circulated for decades. Just a month later, when Lahav left the band, the song forever vanished from Springsteen\u2019s live repertoire.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cChimes of Freedom\u201d (1978)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Rick Diamond\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tMidway through the 1978 Darkness on the Edge of Town<\/em> tour, Springsteen unveiled his take on Dylan\u2019s \u201cChimes of Freedom\u201d during a show in Detroit. This was before the days of the teleprompter, and he had to read the lyrics from a music stand. It\u2019s a completely unique rendition, complete with a Clarence Clemons sax solo, and he wouldn\u2019t attempt it again until the 1988 Tunnel of Love Express tour when it became a nightly highlight. A recording from the July 3, 1988, show in Stockholm, Sweden, was released on the Chimes of Freedom<\/em> EP along with other songs from the tour. The song sat dormant until 2025, when it became the nightly closer on the politically-charged Land of Hope and Dreams tour.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cBlowin\u2019 in the Wind\u201d (1988)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Rob Verhorst\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tDuring an off-day before a show in Paris on the Tunnel of Love Express tour, Springsteen and Clemons made a guest appearance at the televised S.O.S. Racism Concert, where they shared the bill with Joan Baez, Youssou N\u2019Dour, Burning Spear, and many other global acts. Springsteen\u2019s four-song set included \u201cThe Promised Land,\u201d \u201cMy Hometown,\u201d CCR\u2019s \u201cBad Moon Rising,\u201d and Dylan\u2019s \u201cBlowin\u2019 in the Wind.\u201d He sang it again with Joan Baez later that year when the Amnesty International Human Rights Now! tour came to Oakland, California. These are the only two known times he\u2019s performed the folk standard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\n\u201cKnockin\u2019 on Heaven\u2019s Door\u201d (1995)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Vinnie Zuffante\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tMuch like \u201cBlowin\u2019 in the Wind,\u201d \u201cKnockin\u2019 on Heaven\u2019s Door\u201d is a standard that one might presume Bruce Springsteen has played dozens of times. In actuality, he\u2019s only done it twice. The first was the 1995 Berlin concert with Wolfgang Niedecken where he also did \u201cHighway 61 Revisited,\u201d and seven renditions of \u201cHungry Heart.\u201d (This was for the Hungry Heart<\/em> EP. It was a very weird night.) Springsteen\u2019s second \u201cKnockin\u2019 on Heaven\u2019s Door\u201d took place at the 2015 MusiCares tribute to Bob Dylan at the Los Angeles Convention Center, where Springsteen played with an all-star band that included Buddy Miller, Tom Morello, Don Was, Kenny Aronoff, and Greg Leisz.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cForever Young\u201d (1995)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Kevin Mazur\/WireImage\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tBob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen were both signed to Columbia Records by executive John Hammond. He took a big risk on both, and they remained grateful until the day he died in 1987. Springsteen came to the funeral, and sang a solo acoustic rendition of Dylan\u2019s 1973 hit \u201cForever Young.\u201d In 1995, Dylan and Springsteen performed together for the very first time (excluding the chaotic 1988 Hall Fame induction ceremony jam where they were two of about 40 people onstage) at a blowout concert marking the opening of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\n\u201cThe Times They Are-A Changin\u2019\u201d (1997)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Martin Philbey\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tIn 1997, long before Donald Trump destroyed the institution, Bob Dylan received the Kennedy Center Honors alongside Charlton Heston, Lauren Bacall, opera singer Jessye Norman, and ballet dancer Edward Villella. Springsteen had plenty of free time on his hands since the Tom Joad tour was over, and he wouldn\u2019t kick off the E Street Band reunion run for well over a year, so he came by to honor Dylan with a solo, acoustic \u201cThe Times They Are A-Changin’\u201d that Bob watched in the audience alongside his mother, Beatty, who died just three years later. The only other time Springsteen played the song was during a visit to Howard Stern\u2019s studio in 2022, and it was just a tiny snippet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\n\u201cHighway 61 Revisited\u201d (2003)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Paul Bergen\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tSpringsteen first played the title track to Highway 61 Revisited<\/em> alongside Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt at the November 1990 Christic Institute benefit shows. He performed it again in 1995 during the show in Berlin with Wolfgang Niedecken and His Leopardefellband. But the most memorable \u201cHighway 61 Revisited\u201d took place Oct. 4, 2003, when Dylan shocked the crowd at Shea Stadium by joining the E Street Band at the last stop of The Rising<\/em> tour. It\u2019s almost absurdly sloppy, and neither of them seem to know the words, even though Bob has done the song more 2,000 times, second only to \u201cAll Along the Watchtower.\u201d But nobody cared. The joy was seeing two of the greatest American songwriters of the century side by side.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cAll Along the Watchtower\u201d (2004)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tOne year after Dylan made a fantastically messy unannounced guest appearance with the E Street Band, they were joined by Neil Young during a stop of the Vote for Change tour in St. Paul, Minnesota. This one went much smoother, and it included blazing renditions of \u201cRockin\u2019 in the Free World,\u201d \u201cSouls of the Departed,\u201d and Dylan\u2019s 1968 classic \u201cAll Along the Watchtower.\u201d This is a concert staple that everyone from the Dave Mathews Band to Phish, U2, and the Grateful Dead had in their live repertoire. But this is the only known time Springsteen attempted it at a headlining show. (He did play the song with Solar Circus in 1995, and Exit 105 in 2004.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\n\u201cMr. Tambourine Man\u201d (2008)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Ron Antonelli\/NY Daily News Archive\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tSpringsteen\u2019s earliest years as a live performer with groups like the Castiles, Earth, and Child are poorly documented. It\u2019s quite possible he played all sorts of Dylan covers in those years, including \u201cMr. Tambourine Man.\u201d But the first definite \u201cMr. Tambourine Man\u201d took place at Tom Petty\u2019s private 40th birthday celebration in Encino, California, when Springsteen shared the stage with Roger McGuinn, Jeff Lynne, and the Heartbreakers. He didn\u2019t attempt it again until April 23, 2008, when the Magic<\/em> tour came to Orlando, Florida. This was the first E Street Band show since the death of keyboardist Danny Federici, and everyone was still in a deep state of mourning, but McGuinn came out during the encores to lift everyone\u2019s spirits. He led the band on the Byrds\u2019 rendition of \u201cMr. Tambourine Man.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cLike a Rolling Stone\u201d (2009)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Jamie Squire\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tSpringsteen famously said the opening snare shot at the beginning of \u201cLike a Rolling Stone\u201d sounded like \u201csomebody kicked open the door to your mind.\u201d Once he heard it in the car with his mother back in 1965, his life was never the same. But discounting the 1988 Hall of Fame jam, which was just a cacophony of chaos, Springsteen didn\u2019t play it until he guested with John Mellencamp at an Irvine, California, show in 1988. And he didn\u2019t take the lead on the song until May 19, 2009, when he played it by request during a show at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\n\u201cI Shall Be Released\u201d (2026)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tTo celebrate the opening of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, and America\u2019s semiquincentennial, a two-night concert was held at the OceanFirst Bank Center that took on the near-impossible task of honoring 250 years of American music history. On the second night, Springsteen teamed up with Sheryl Crow to cover the Basement Tapes<\/em> classic \u201cI Shall Be Released,\u201d marking the first time he\u2019d ever played it. By wild coincidence, Dylan kicked off his summer tour the previous night by resurrecting the Basement Tapes<\/em> extreme deep cut \u201cBaby, Won\u2019t You Be My Baby\u201d <\/a>for the first time since the original recording in 1967. And the next night, Dylan played the Basement Tapes<\/em> song \u201cYou Ain\u2019t Goin\u2019 Nowhere\u201d for the first time since 2012.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nBonus: Bob Dylan Plays \u201cDancing in the Dark\u201d (1990)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Paul Bergen\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tBruce Springsteen began covering Bob Dylan in 1971, at least, and the love-fest continued all the way through the 2026 Land of Hope and Dreams tour, where \u201cChimes of Freedom\u201d closed ever night. But Dylan only returned the favor a single time. This was the infamous Toad\u2019s Place concert in New Haven, Connecticut, where Dylan played an astounding 50 songs to a stunned crowd. One of them was a very sloppy, unrehearsed \u201cDancing in the Dark.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\nDouble Bonus: \u201cTweeter and the Monkey Man\u201d by the Traveling Wilburys (1988)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Paul Natkin\/WireImage\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tThe greatest Bruce Springsteen song that Bruce Springsteen didn\u2019t write, \u201cTweeter and the Monkey Man,\u201d appears on the 1988 Traveling Wilburys<\/em> album. Written largely by Dylan and Tom Petty, the song contains a Springsteen reference in practically every single line. (Sample lyric: \u201cThey knew that they found freedom just across the Jersey line \/So they hopped into a stolen car, took Highway 99.\u201d) \u201cIt was not meant to mock him at all,\u201d Petty told Rolling Stone<\/em> in 2013. \u201cIt started with Bob Dylan saying, \u2018I want to write a song about a guy named Tweeter. And it needs somebody else.\u2019 I said, \u2018The Monkey Man.\u2019 And he says, \u2018Perfect, \u2018Tweeter and the Monkey Man.\u201d And he said, \u2018Okay, I want to write the story and I want to set it in New Jersey.\u2019 I was like, \u2018Okay, New Jersey.\u2019 And he was like, \u2018Yeah, we could use references to Bruce Springsteen titles.\u2019 He clearly meant it as praise.\u201d We\u2019ll take Petty at his word that they weren\u2019t trying to poke even a little. And it remains our dream that one day Springsteen will play it live. If he ever does another \u201cStump the Band\u201d tour with fans holding up sign requests, we\u2019re going with \u201cTweeter and the Monkey Man.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\n\tOnce Springsteen signed with CBS in 1972 and began putting out records the following year, the number of cover songs in his set dropped considerably. But he usually played at least two or three. One was an achingly gorgeous take on \u201cI Want You,\u201d which grew to even greater heights once violinist Suki Lahav \u2014 who died<\/a> earlier this year \u2014 joined the E Street Band. The definitive recording comes from the legendary concert at Philadelphia\u2019s Main Point on Feb. 5, 1975. It\u2019s arguably the single greatest live show Springsteen ever played, and there\u2019s a pristine recording that has circulated for decades. Just a month later, when Lahav left the band, the song forever vanished from Springsteen\u2019s live repertoire.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tMidway through the 1978 Darkness on the Edge of Town<\/em> tour, Springsteen unveiled his take on Dylan\u2019s \u201cChimes of Freedom\u201d during a show in Detroit. This was before the days of the teleprompter, and he had to read the lyrics from a music stand. It\u2019s a completely unique rendition, complete with a Clarence Clemons sax solo, and he wouldn\u2019t attempt it again until the 1988 Tunnel of Love Express tour when it became a nightly highlight. A recording from the July 3, 1988, show in Stockholm, Sweden, was released on the Chimes of Freedom<\/em> EP along with other songs from the tour. The song sat dormant until 2025, when it became the nightly closer on the politically-charged Land of Hope and Dreams tour.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tDuring an off-day before a show in Paris on the Tunnel of Love Express tour, Springsteen and Clemons made a guest appearance at the televised S.O.S. Racism Concert, where they shared the bill with Joan Baez, Youssou N\u2019Dour, Burning Spear, and many other global acts. Springsteen\u2019s four-song set included \u201cThe Promised Land,\u201d \u201cMy Hometown,\u201d CCR\u2019s \u201cBad Moon Rising,\u201d and Dylan\u2019s \u201cBlowin\u2019 in the Wind.\u201d He sang it again with Joan Baez later that year when the Amnesty International Human Rights Now! tour came to Oakland, California. These are the only two known times he\u2019s performed the folk standard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tMuch like \u201cBlowin\u2019 in the Wind,\u201d \u201cKnockin\u2019 on Heaven\u2019s Door\u201d is a standard that one might presume Bruce Springsteen has played dozens of times. In actuality, he\u2019s only done it twice. The first was the 1995 Berlin concert with Wolfgang Niedecken where he also did \u201cHighway 61 Revisited,\u201d and seven renditions of \u201cHungry Heart.\u201d (This was for the Hungry Heart<\/em> EP. It was a very weird night.) Springsteen\u2019s second \u201cKnockin\u2019 on Heaven\u2019s Door\u201d took place at the 2015 MusiCares tribute to Bob Dylan at the Los Angeles Convention Center, where Springsteen played with an all-star band that included Buddy Miller, Tom Morello, Don Was, Kenny Aronoff, and Greg Leisz.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tBob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen were both signed to Columbia Records by executive John Hammond. He took a big risk on both, and they remained grateful until the day he died in 1987. Springsteen came to the funeral, and sang a solo acoustic rendition of Dylan\u2019s 1973 hit \u201cForever Young.\u201d In 1995, Dylan and Springsteen performed together for the very first time (excluding the chaotic 1988 Hall Fame induction ceremony jam where they were two of about 40 people onstage) at a blowout concert marking the opening of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tIn 1997, long before Donald Trump destroyed the institution, Bob Dylan received the Kennedy Center Honors alongside Charlton Heston, Lauren Bacall, opera singer Jessye Norman, and ballet dancer Edward Villella. Springsteen had plenty of free time on his hands since the Tom Joad tour was over, and he wouldn\u2019t kick off the E Street Band reunion run for well over a year, so he came by to honor Dylan with a solo, acoustic \u201cThe Times They Are A-Changin’\u201d that Bob watched in the audience alongside his mother, Beatty, who died just three years later. The only other time Springsteen played the song was during a visit to Howard Stern\u2019s studio in 2022, and it was just a tiny snippet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tSpringsteen first played the title track to Highway 61 Revisited<\/em> alongside Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt at the November 1990 Christic Institute benefit shows. He performed it again in 1995 during the show in Berlin with Wolfgang Niedecken and His Leopardefellband. But the most memorable \u201cHighway 61 Revisited\u201d took place Oct. 4, 2003, when Dylan shocked the crowd at Shea Stadium by joining the E Street Band at the last stop of The Rising<\/em> tour. It\u2019s almost absurdly sloppy, and neither of them seem to know the words, even though Bob has done the song more 2,000 times, second only to \u201cAll Along the Watchtower.\u201d But nobody cared. The joy was seeing two of the greatest American songwriters of the century side by side.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tOne year after Dylan made a fantastically messy unannounced guest appearance with the E Street Band, they were joined by Neil Young during a stop of the Vote for Change tour in St. Paul, Minnesota. This one went much smoother, and it included blazing renditions of \u201cRockin\u2019 in the Free World,\u201d \u201cSouls of the Departed,\u201d and Dylan\u2019s 1968 classic \u201cAll Along the Watchtower.\u201d This is a concert staple that everyone from the Dave Mathews Band to Phish, U2, and the Grateful Dead had in their live repertoire. But this is the only known time Springsteen attempted it at a headlining show. (He did play the song with Solar Circus in 1995, and Exit 105 in 2004.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tSpringsteen\u2019s earliest years as a live performer with groups like the Castiles, Earth, and Child are poorly documented. It\u2019s quite possible he played all sorts of Dylan covers in those years, including \u201cMr. Tambourine Man.\u201d But the first definite \u201cMr. Tambourine Man\u201d took place at Tom Petty\u2019s private 40th birthday celebration in Encino, California, when Springsteen shared the stage with Roger McGuinn, Jeff Lynne, and the Heartbreakers. He didn\u2019t attempt it again until April 23, 2008, when the Magic<\/em> tour came to Orlando, Florida. This was the first E Street Band show since the death of keyboardist Danny Federici, and everyone was still in a deep state of mourning, but McGuinn came out during the encores to lift everyone\u2019s spirits. He led the band on the Byrds\u2019 rendition of \u201cMr. Tambourine Man.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tSpringsteen famously said the opening snare shot at the beginning of \u201cLike a Rolling Stone\u201d sounded like \u201csomebody kicked open the door to your mind.\u201d Once he heard it in the car with his mother back in 1965, his life was never the same. But discounting the 1988 Hall of Fame jam, which was just a cacophony of chaos, Springsteen didn\u2019t play it until he guested with John Mellencamp at an Irvine, California, show in 1988. And he didn\u2019t take the lead on the song until May 19, 2009, when he played it by request during a show at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tTo celebrate the opening of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, and America\u2019s semiquincentennial, a two-night concert was held at the OceanFirst Bank Center that took on the near-impossible task of honoring 250 years of American music history. On the second night, Springsteen teamed up with Sheryl Crow to cover the Basement Tapes<\/em> classic \u201cI Shall Be Released,\u201d marking the first time he\u2019d ever played it. By wild coincidence, Dylan kicked off his summer tour the previous night by resurrecting the Basement Tapes<\/em> extreme deep cut \u201cBaby, Won\u2019t You Be My Baby\u201d <\/a>for the first time since the original recording in 1967. And the next night, Dylan played the Basement Tapes<\/em> song \u201cYou Ain\u2019t Goin\u2019 Nowhere\u201d for the first time since 2012.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tBruce Springsteen began covering Bob Dylan in 1971, at least, and the love-fest continued all the way through the 2026 Land of Hope and Dreams tour, where \u201cChimes of Freedom\u201d closed ever night. But Dylan only returned the favor a single time. This was the infamous Toad\u2019s Place concert in New Haven, Connecticut, where Dylan played an astounding 50 songs to a stunned crowd. One of them was a very sloppy, unrehearsed \u201cDancing in the Dark.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tThe greatest Bruce Springsteen song that Bruce Springsteen didn\u2019t write, \u201cTweeter and the Monkey Man,\u201d appears on the 1988 Traveling Wilburys<\/em> album. Written largely by Dylan and Tom Petty, the song contains a Springsteen reference in practically every single line. (Sample lyric: \u201cThey knew that they found freedom just across the Jersey line \/So they hopped into a stolen car, took Highway 99.\u201d) \u201cIt was not meant to mock him at all,\u201d Petty told Rolling Stone<\/em> in 2013. \u201cIt started with Bob Dylan saying, \u2018I want to write a song about a guy named Tweeter. And it needs somebody else.\u2019 I said, \u2018The Monkey Man.\u2019 And he says, \u2018Perfect, \u2018Tweeter and the Monkey Man.\u201d And he said, \u2018Okay, I want to write the story and I want to set it in New Jersey.\u2019 I was like, \u2018Okay, New Jersey.\u2019 And he was like, \u2018Yeah, we could use references to Bruce Springsteen titles.\u2019 He clearly meant it as praise.\u201d We\u2019ll take Petty at his word that they weren\u2019t trying to poke even a little. And it remains our dream that one day Springsteen will play it live. If he ever does another \u201cStump the Band\u201d tour with fans holding up sign requests, we\u2019re going with \u201cTweeter and the Monkey Man.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\u201cChimes of Freedom\u201d (1978)<\/h2>\n
\u201cBlowin\u2019 in the Wind\u201d (1988)<\/h2>\n
\u201cKnockin\u2019 on Heaven\u2019s Door\u201d (1995)<\/h2>\n
\u201cForever Young\u201d (1995)<\/h2>\n
\u201cThe Times They Are-A Changin\u2019\u201d (1997)<\/h2>\n
\u201cHighway 61 Revisited\u201d (2003)<\/h2>\n
\u201cAll Along the Watchtower\u201d (2004)<\/h2>\n
\u201cMr. Tambourine Man\u201d (2008)<\/h2>\n
\u201cLike a Rolling Stone\u201d (2009)<\/h2>\n
\u201cI Shall Be Released\u201d (2026)<\/h2>\n
Bonus: Bob Dylan Plays \u201cDancing in the Dark\u201d (1990)<\/h2>\n
Double Bonus: \u201cTweeter and the Monkey Man\u201d by the Traveling Wilburys (1988)<\/h2>\n